MV Stellar Banner, the iron ore carrier contracted by Vale that has been stranded off Brazil’s northern coast is likely to have developed a fuel leak, the Brazilian miner said in a statement on Friday.
A spokesperson at Vale told Davis Index that the miner has begun a mitigation plan to contain the fuel leak from the vessel that is carrying 294,871mt of iron ore. However, the company did not disclose if the delay in this shipment would have an impact on its overall iron ore supply or its demand.
The company’s plan to contain the fuel leak includes the deployment of Petrobras’ oil spill recovery vessels to contain any eventual oil spills. It has also requested to the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), for formal traffic authorization of the vessels on the coast of Maranhão and has hired salvage specialists to speed up the vessel oil removal plan.
The company said in a statement that it has requested for offshore ocean buoys, which can be used as containment barriers for the open sea, and helicopters to move technical personnel to the location.
Vale expects to increase its iron ore output by 18pc to 355,000mt in 2020.